Eruption of Iceland's Grimsvotn Volcano : Photos

Dec 12, 2012 03:00 AM ET

The initial eruption of Grímsvötn on May 21, 2011, reached 20 kilometers (12 miles) high, more than twice the height of last year's eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, which only reached 8 kilometers (5 miles). The material spewed from Grímsvötn however is coarser and heavier and not expected to remain aloft for as long or as far. This image shows the plume as the volcano continued to erupt on May 23.

Jon Magnusson/Getty Images

The eruption of the Grímsvötn volcano sent thousands of tonnes of volcanic ash into the sky on May 23, 2011, above Iceland. During the peak of the eruption, Grímsvötn produced 1,000 times as many lightning strikes per hour as Eyjafjallajökull had a year earlier.

Jon Magnusson/Getty Images

This image shows the plume as Grímsvötn continued to erupt on May 23.

Jon Magnusson/Getty Images

Mammatus clouds are seen above the plume as the eruption of Grímsvötn continued on May 23, sending thousands of tonnes of volcanic ash into the sky above Iceland.

Jon Magnusson/Getty Images

The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of the Grímsvötn volcano eruption in Iceland on May 22, 2011, at 05:15 UTC (5:00 a.m. local time).

The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of the Grímsvötn volcano eruption in Iceland on May 22, 2011, at 13:00 UTC (1:00 p.m. local time).

NASA /Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Tea

Contrails over Buckingham Palace during the meeting of President Obama with the Royal family on Tuesday provided visible signs that the ash from Iceland's Grímsvötn volcano is proving far less disruptive than last year's eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. Even so, hundreds of flights have been canceled leaving thousands of passengers in airline limbo.

To avoid the oncoming plume, Monday night President Obama left Ireland aboard Air Force One for London earlier than planned. He is scheduled to visit Poland and attend the G8 meeting in Deauville, France, before returning to the United States. On Sunday he will meet with residents of the tornado-struck city of Joplin, Mo.